The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. It was created to celebrate the 81 years of discerning, thoughtful criticism Kirkus Reviews has contributed to both the publishing industry and readers at large. Books that earned the Kirkus Star with publication dates between November 1, 2014, and October 31, 2015 (see FAQ for exceptions), are automatically nominated for the 2015 Kirkus Prize, and the winners will be selected on October 15, 2015, by an esteemed panel composed of nationally respected writers and highly regarded booksellers, librarians and Kirkus critics.

"Immensely diverse, often clever, unfailingly gripping as volunteers reach through barriers of tradition and culture to touch other lives, while a series of epiphanies blows their minds clear as a moonscape."

Novelist Coyne (Child of Shadows, Fury, etc.), once a Peace Corps volunteer in Ethiopia, edits a sheaf of lively essays close to his heart.
Read full book review >

"Presented as a microcosm in the tradition of Ship of Fools, this seems, rather, a petty and misogynistic take on the worthless passengers riding a great train served by a caring and conscientious crew."

Kisor (What's That Pig Outdoors?, 1990) records his adventures on the California Zephyr, the legendary transcontinental train from Chicago to L.A. Kisor loves the train, the crew, the chefs, the porters, and the lore of the train that ranges from an odd sexual encounter in the baggage car to the effect of altitude on Alzheimer's, from train crashes and criminals to the history of dining cars.
Read full book review >

Casting his line in the wilds of the Blue Mountains of Oregon, fly fisherman Leeson (contributing editor, Fly Rod & Reel; English/Oregon State Univ.) is in his element; but as the Spinoza of the Umpqua he crashes and burns.
Read full book review >

"Of particular interest to those with an appreciation—and a soft spot—for backyard fauna. (Eleven lovely line drawings accompany the text)"

Primarily known as the author of numerous naval history books (To the Shores of Tripoli, 1991, etc.), Whipple turns his attention here to an investigation—via both firsthand observation and research—of the local wildlife that live in and about his Greenwich, Connecticut, neighborhood.
Read full book review >

"The writing is overwrought, the tone self-righteous, and much of the content self-serving—yet this offers information too important for readers to let these, and other irritations, stand in their way. (Twelve b&w and 60 color photographs—not seen)"

The critically important—and interesting—story of the threat to earth's biodiversity and how this endangers us all, told by the founder of Seeds of Change, the country's leading organic seed producer.
Read full book review >

"Touching, funny, and generally appealing, especially for those with a soft spot for strays. (Photographs—not seen)"

How—shortly after freelance writer Huxley and her husband buy a country house in bucolic New Hope, Pennsylvania—a scruffy, half- starved white-and-black cat collapses onto their porch and wins over their hearts.
Read full book review >

"A remarkable look—consistently observant, thoughtful, and frank—by a remarkable American family at a turbulent time in African history: Pioneer writing at its best. (Photos)"

A poignant and candid account of pioneering in the dying days of the African frontier, by members of an American family, including its head, legendary war hero and adventurer Frederick Russell Burnham (author of the noted memoirs Scouting on Two Continents).
Read full book review >

"All happiness is animal happiness,'' says Hearne—including, then, the reader happiness produced by this smart, passionate, and challenging work."

The cat publishing craze may be going to the dogs: Elizabeth Marshall Thomas's The Hidden Life of Dogs is a bestseller, while a grinning canine recently graced the cover of Newsweek.
Read full book review >

No one would accuse V. I. Warshawski of backing down from a fight, but there are a few she’d be happy to avoid. High on that list is tangling with Chicago political bosses. Yet that’s precisely what she ends up doing when she responds to Frank Guzzo’s plea for help in Brush Back, the latest thriller from bestselling author Sara Paretsky. For six stormy weeks back in high school, V.I. thought she was in love with Frank. He broke up with her, she went off to college, he started driving trucks for Bagby Haulage. She forgot about him until the day his mother was convicted of bludgeoning his kid sister, Annie, to death. Stella Guzzo was an angry, uncooperative prisoner and did a full 25 years for her daughter’s murder. Newly released from prison, Stella is looking for exoneration, so Frank asks V.I. for help. “Paretsky, who plots more conscientiously than anyone else in the field, digs deep, then deeper, into past and present until all is revealed,” our reviewer writes.
View video >

FEATURED NONFICTION AUTHOR

When Susan Southard was a high school student in the early 1970s, a study abroad trip to Japan brought her to the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum. There, looking at photographs of the city’s atomic bomb victims along with her fellow Japanese classmates, a “visceral understanding of war” awakened in her ...

Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.